London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Population growth in London 'double the rate in rest of UK'

London's population is growing twice as fast as the rest of Britain, official figures revealed today.

The new data also shows the capital has the youngest population in the UK compared with other regions.

London has the highest house prices and crime rates but also the highest wages and contributes more to GDP than any other UK area.

The Office for National Statistics produced the profile as part of a wider study aimed at comparing and contrasting regions.

From 2011 to 2012 the number of people in the capital leapt by 1.3 per cent to 8.3 million, while the rest of the population grew just 0.7 per cent.

It means London remains the most populated area — with 5,285 people per square kilometre, against 411 elsewhere in England. The average age of a Londoner was just 34 in 2012, compared with almost 40 in the rest of the country. The ONS data shows that the capital generates 22 per cent of the UK’s total economic output — a larger share than any English region, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Businesses were also created fastest in the capital but at the same time the unemployment rate of 8.8 per cent was above the national average.

Those with jobs enjoyed the highest wages, £613 a week compared with a UK average of £506, but also faced soaring housing costs.

The ONS said: “House prices in London are notably the highest in the UK. The average in June 2013 was £425,000 compared with £242,000 for the country. This was 8.1 per cent more than a year earlier, compared with the UK figure of 3.1 per cent.”

Crime rates in 2012/13 in London were also the highest in England Police recorded 95 crimes per 1,000 people, compared with 64 in the rest of England.